


adrenaline still in your veins.

by sakurabomb



Series: break out of... [1]
Category: Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Post-Canon, many headcanons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-02-16
Packaged: 2019-10-29 09:19:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,453
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17805317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sakurabomb/pseuds/sakurabomb
Summary: It's been a year since Yu Narukami and Sho Minazuki's first fight.A year of clashing, of pain, of growth.And it all comes to a head on the first anniversary of the night the world turned red.





	adrenaline still in your veins.

_“Come at me whenever you want, as often as you want. I'll always accept the challenge!”_

_“I'll kill you for sure one day. You better be ready when I come for you!”_

It's been a year since the "Red Night", when Hi-no-Kagutsuchi attempted to obliterate all life in the world, leaving only itself. A Class 2 Shadow Incident (identified by extreme warping of metaspace, yet a relatively short time frame), the Red Night sealed the fate of potential wild card Sho Minazuki to the life of the Seeker of Truth, Yu Narukami.

Since that day, Sho and Yu have clashed swords upwards of a dozen times. Each fight, whether in reality or in the television world, left them both beaten and breathless. And yet, no matter the circumstances, Sho would always end on his knees, with Yu barely able to stand above him.

After every victory, Yu would ask something of Sho. Something normal. Something friends would do together. "Would you like to see a movie?" "Wanna go to the beach?" "My parents are gone for the weekend, want to crash at my place?"

Each time, Sho's answer would be a resounding " _no._ "

However, the past few fights, Sho's refusals weakened in intensity, to the point of simply leaving the last time he lost.

Now, Yu is back in Inaba for Golden Week. Having graduated high school and landed a scholarship to a small, but reputable, university in Okina, it wasn't uncommon for him to come by for day trips. But for Golden Week, Yu is spending the nights in his room at the Dojima residence. Not specifically for what he had planned for the night of May 6th.

But it definitely made things easier.

The television world is much less volatile now. Shadows still roam, but remain generally placid (unless in the case of a big enough disturbance, such as Labrys' dungeon the year before). If you were to go to any of the dungeons from the kidnappings two years before, you would see the buildings exterior crumbling, slowly being overtaken and reclaimed by the idyllic nature paradise that had sprung up and taken root in the absence of Izanami's fog.

It was this docility that allowed Yu to enter that world from the television in the Dojima's living room, no longer having to worry about fighting for his life from the unusual entrance point. Fighting shadows, at least. Yu had his sword in hand and a bag slung over his shoulder full of medicines, ointments, and bandages from Shiroku. After the first battle with Sho that he'd expected (the third), he attempted to help Sho with first aid, but was snapped at and called things that he didn't necessarily want to repeat. He always brought the bag nonetheless, and sometimes, after a particularly rough fight, Sho would snatch a length of gauze or a medicine. Yu did not attempt to offer assistance, something which he thought Sho appreciated. A show of trust, in a way- that Yu trusted Sho to take care of himself.

It didn't take long for Yu to make his way to the backlot. He'd taken the route many times over summer vacation, and then again over winter break. With the lack of shadows and fog, it wasn’t a very difficult trek.

It doesn't take long for Sho to show himself, either.

Yu is standing in the corner of the stage that made up the backlot, sliding the medicine bag off of his shoulder and onto the ground, when he hears a soft thud from behind him. The corner of his mouth quirks up in a smile, and he turns around.

Sho Minazuki hasn't changed much in the past year. He's ditched the stolen Yasogami uniform for black jeans and a nondescript dark green jacket tied around his waist, and his hair is just a bit longer (Yu thinks it's likely he cuts it himself, so getting it to the right length is probably hard), but the playful gleam in his grey eyes and vicious smile cutting across his face is the same as ever. He already has his swords in hand, one sword leaning against his shoulder like a baseball bat, the other tapping against the ground, jittery, impatient.

(Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Yu thinks that Sho looks… )

“Well?” Sho shifts so that both swords are touching the ground, hands clenching in preparation of a strike.

Yu matches Sho's smirk with a smaller one of his own. “Sho-time?”

Sho lunges.

The fight begins as all their fights in real space do, sword to sword. Sho's technique has improved over the last year, but so has Yu's in turn. They match each other strike for strike, blow for blow, step for step, until Yu sees an opening. Sho is ever so slightly off balance after he blocked Yu's latest attack. Yu turns the tide with a sweeping high kick to Sho's side, shoving him out of range, and sending him sprawling.

Sho is back on his feet almost instantly, his eyes blazing electric blue. _This_ is what both of them have been waiting for- a chance to turn this battle into something a bit _more_ , something that _connects_ them in a way that their fights in real space can't. Yu can hear his blood rushing, can feel his heart pounding in his chest, a power wanting, _fighting_ to break free.

Yu raises his hand and Sho raises his sword. In unison they call

“Persona!”

and Izanagi and Tsukuyomi appear above them in bursts of blue flame, the resulting gust of wind kicking up the dust and dirt on the floor of the backlot, knocking their hair and clothes into disarray, blowing whatever inhibitions they had left far, far away as their true selves clash above them.

(Sho looks… )

From there, the battle continues as a dance. They throw elemental attacks at each other, flashes of light and dark surrounding them, enveloping them, their personas casting spell after spell without a single word needing to be spoken. They dart into combat range, blades clashing, the sound of metal on metal ringing, ringing, _ringing_ as they attempt to bring the other down.

Slowly but surely, they tire. A spell missing, a block too slow, a strike while off balance. The grin drops from Sho's face (his eyes are burning). Each mistake drains on their endurance, until their personas are away (Sho's eyes still burn, despite the lack of blue), the battle ending as it began. Sword on swords, clashes so powerful they generate sparks.

At last, Yu's katana and Sho's swords meet in one final blow.

And they both fall to their knees.

At first, the silence is deafening. The ringing of their last strike echoes in nothing but their minds, and as that dies, so does the last vestiges of their strength. Yu's katana slips from his hands, Sho's swords fall, and they clatter to the ground in sync.

Panting, gasping, they catch their breath. Both of Sho's hands are braced on the ground in front of him where he stares, while Yu sits back on his feet, head bowed. It takes a few moments, but Yu manages to lift his head and is about to rise to his feet to grab the first-aid bag when he notices that Sho's eyes are locked on him with a burning intensity that's almost...

(Sho looks…)

Yu opens his mouth to ask what's wrong, and he can see when something inside the boy across from him seems to snap.

Sho lunges.

Yu flinches back in surprise, eyes closing, almost expecting calloused hands to wrap tightly around his throat. Instead they grab the collar of his shirt like a vice, pulling him forwards-

And there's pressure on his lips, and it’s _electric_.

Yu's eyes snap open in shock, only to flutter closed again upon realization of current events. One hand braced on Sho's knee, he leans into the kiss, and reaches the other to slide into Sho's hair at the back of his head. Somehow, in the intense haze of sensation, Yu manages to note that it’s surprisingly soft.

The pressure jerks away suddenly, and Yu's eyes open to be treated to the sight of Sho's burning gaze once again focused on him, like he’s trying to ingrain every detail of Yu’s face into his memory with intense clarity. Yu leans forwards, slowly, in case Sho were to lean away, and presses their foreheads together, their breath intermingling in short, heavy bursts, leftover adrenaline surging through them like a live wire.

(Sho looks _beautiful_.)

“You,” Yu manages to gasp, “are _incredible_.”

“And _you're_ a pain in my ass.”

Yu laughs, and pulls Sho back in.

This time, they meet halfway.

**Author's Note:**

> first finished persona fic. feedback appreciated!  
> twitter: spacesaber


End file.
